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It was heart-stopping. It was record-setting. It was entertainment at its finest and the origin story for a host of hometown heroes.

And it was the greatest of all time.

鈥淓very year the state tournament comes up, it鈥檚 talked about,鈥� said Delwyn Holthusen, who was Red Lake鈥檚 sophomore center at the time. 鈥淚t was nuts. Crazy.鈥�

In what鈥檚 arguably (but widely regarded as) the greatest state tournament game in Minnesota high school basketball history, the Red Lake and Wabasso boys put on a semifinal show in 1997 that鈥檚 still being talked about. Now, 25 years later, relive the mayhem of the double-digit comeback in the final 1:11, one that an entire reservation witnessed inside the St. Paul Civic Center.

The madness can鈥檛 be described any other way than an instant classic that immediately went down in history.

鈥淚 know that we ended up losing the game, but with the way we fought back and sent the game into overtime, it almost seemed like we won the fans over,鈥� said Gerald Kingbird, a sophomore on that Warriors team. 鈥淔or me, it was something special to be a part of.鈥�

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Red Lake entered the state tournament 25-1, sneaking by Fertile-Beltrami 61-56 in the Section 8A championship game for the program鈥檚 first-ever section title.

More notably, the Warriors became the first all-Native American team to ever reach the state tournament.

Red Lake then faced undefeated and top-ranked Cherry in the Class A state quarterfinals, winning 65-62 at Bemidji State. (The fact that state quarterfinal games were played at outstate sites and not in the Twin Cities was subject to major criticism, but 2,600 fans still packed inside the BSU Gymnasium to watch the Warriors that night.)

In the semifinals, Red Lake matched up against Wabasso, the Section 3A champions. And Holthusen remembers walking out to a massive sea of fans in St. Paul that state officials estimated featured 10,000 Native Americans.

鈥淭hey said it was like a ghost town on the reservation,鈥� Holthusen said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a tear-jerker, just seeing everyone come together like that. It was pretty crazy coming out before the game and seeing that big arena filled with red.鈥�

鈥淲ith how many fans there were in attendance, it felt like a professional game,鈥� Kingbird added. 鈥淔or that game, you felt like you were playing in the pros.鈥�

The papers piggybacked off that professional comparison. The Pioneer recounted that 鈥渢he two first-time entrants to the state Class A tournament battled through five periods of NBA-style ball before the Rabbits finally prevailed 117-113 in the wildest and highest-scoring game in tournament history.鈥�

Points came so fast that nobody but the players could keep up. Wabasso led 29-23 after the first quarter and held a 53-47 halftime lead after the next eight minutes. The Rabbits seemed to be pulling away when they jumped up 81-62 after three quarters.

But then the fun really started.

Pioneer file photo

Slow and steady wasn鈥檛 going to win this game.

The track meet disguised as a basketball game featured fast breaks on nearly every possession and baskets by the bushel. Still, Red Lake trailed by 18 with under 4:30 left to play.

鈥淒uring a timeout on the bench (with 5:33 remaining), I don鈥檛 know what kind of expression I had on my face, but I was looking up at the crowd,鈥� Kingbird said. 鈥淚 remember (teammate) Kyle Garrigan patted me on the back and said, 鈥榃e can do this.鈥� It was a little reassurance. And after that, we started making our comeback.鈥�

The Warriors started to rally from there, and each score sent the crowd into ever-building pandemonium. They fed off the energy of players like Charlie Charnoski, who

鈥淐harlie Charnoski was pretty hyped after every basket and every steal,鈥� Kingbird said. 鈥淗e was really pumped in the game.鈥�

Red Lake was dealt a huge blow when Holthusen fouled out with 1:35 to go. He received a mighty ovation from the crowd after a 30-point, 11-rebound performance, which didn鈥檛 even fully illustrate his effort.

But what happened next went down in history.

鈥淚 played the way I was told to play, to leave it all out on the floor,鈥� Holthusen said. 鈥淚 ended up fouling out, and Gerald went off for like 19 points in the fourth.鈥�

Still down 10 with 75 seconds to play, Kingbird put the team on his back by scoring the Warriors鈥� final 13 points of regulation. He started with then sank a long two to cut within 102-97.

With 45 seconds left, Kingbird launched a contested three and hit nothing but net. Then he drained two free throws to make it a one-possession game at 104-102 with 33.7 ticks remaining.

After a Wabasso free throw stretched the lead back to three, -- perhaps the shot of his life and the one that sent the game to overtime.

鈥淚t was just like being in the zone,鈥� Kingbird said. 鈥淚 felt like I was the only player on the court at the time. It almost felt like a dream. 鈥� Every shot I took, I saw it go through the basket. It seemed like it wasn鈥檛 real.鈥�

On the live broadcast, play-by-play commentator Jeff Grayson was nearly drowned out by the hysterical Red Lake fans. Grayson, like all others, was in awe of Kingbird鈥檚 dauntless dominance: 鈥淚n one of the most unbelievable performances we鈥檝e seen in the state tournament, Gerald Kingbird has taken the Warriors on his shoulders. Thirty-five points. We鈥檙e tied at 105. Can you believe this? This place is absolutely bonkers.鈥�

Pioneer file photo

The four-minute overtime period went Wabasso鈥檚 way by a 12-8 margin. Red Lake led 111-109 on a Kingbird layup with 1:25 to go, but Derrick Jenniges answered with the go-ahead three and the Rabbits never trailed again.

At the final buzzer, Wabasso celebrated with whatever energy it had left, then immediately turned to shake hands and hug their equally adept counterparts. A whole lot of respect had developed over 36 lightning-fast minutes.

鈥淵ou know what鈥檚 great about this right now? Fans from both sides are giving their teams standing ovations,鈥� said Grayson, the play-by-play commentator. 鈥淎nd they deserve it.鈥�

鈥淭hat was a nice comeback by my boys. I鈥檓 really proud of them,鈥� Red Lake head coach Doug Desjarlait said in a postgame interview. 鈥淥ne more bucket and I think we would have had them. Give me another half a minute maybe.鈥�

The game ended around midnight, and Red Lake had to play in the third-place game at 11 a.m. the next morning. Minnesota Valley Lutheran beat the Warriors 97-60.

But the semifinal showcase is what fans remember now. The teams combined for seven state tournament records, including most combined points in a game, most points by winning and losing teams, and most points in a quarter (Red Lake鈥檚 43 in the fourth).

鈥淭he next day, people were saying it was one of the greatest games they鈥檇 ever seen,鈥� Kingbird said. 鈥淓xperiencing it myself was pretty cool.鈥�

Twenty-five years later, the game sure hasn鈥檛 lost its luster. And it won鈥檛 likely be replaced any time soon, either.

鈥淭o share that with so many people (was special),鈥� Holthusen added. 鈥淚 was living in the moment. Sometimes you鈥檒l never ever have moments like that again.鈥�

Below is the entire 1997 Class A state semifinal game between Red Lake and Wabasso. Jump to to begin watching when the Warriors trailed 102-92 with 1:15 left in regulation. Or, at Red Lake trailed 93-75 with 4:25 to go.